Klaus Nomi

About Klaus Nomi

Klaus Nomi was born on January 24, 1944 in Bavaria, Germany and came to prominence in New York City as a performance artist and counterculture icon in the 1970’s. Nomi’s act involved highly charged operatic howling over electronic arrangements and grandiose set treatments complete with colorful strobe lights and smoke pyrotechnics.

Nomi unfortunately became one of the first high profile fatalities claimed by the AIDS epidemic that ravaged the gay arts and culture scene in major cities across the world. He succumbed to complications of the disease at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City on August 6, 1983 at the age of 39. His legacy as a performer has since been preserved and acclaimed, and he has been the subject of many documentary films and tributes from the likes of Morrisey, Soft Cell’s Mark Almond and Courtney Act, Drag Queen and winner of Celebrity Big Brother UK.